One of the horror genre's "most widely read critics" (Rue Morgue # 68), "an accomplished film journalist" (Comic Buyer's Guide #1535), and the award-winning author of Horror Films of the 1980s (2007), The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia (2007) and Horror Films of the 1970s (2002), John Kenneth Muir, presents his blog on film, television and nostalgia, named one of the Top 100 Film Studies Blog on the Net.

If
you watched Buck Rogers in the 25th Century on television with
any regularity, you’ll immediately pick up on some of the discontinuities
between the program and the toys.
Specifically, Pamela Hensley’s character was named Ardala, not
Ardella. And Kane -- a character played by both Henry Silva and
Michael Ansara – was never referred to by the nickname Killer Kane.

Finally
of course, King Draco appeared in the pilot/movie for about twenty seconds and
was never seen again on the series. Not
even once.

Despite
such problems, I always enjoyed these three-and-three-quarter inch action figures. They could fit easily inside the Land Rover,
the Draconian Marauder and the Starfighter, and in general looked a great lot
like their video counterparts. The figures’
drawbacks included the fact that they came with no accessories, not even laser
guns or helmets.

And
additionally, like The Black Hole action figures from Mego of the same vintage,
these Buck Rogers figures could break very easily because all their
joints were held together by silver pins.
Those pins had an annoying habit
of loosening up or even falling out.

I
still remember seeing Buck Rogers in the 25th Century in
theaters. Afterwards, my parents took me
to a Toys R Us store to buy me two action figures. I was able to find Buck and Twiki and was
pretty happy about it. Our next stop was
a carpet store and while my parents shopped, I flew Buck and Twiki around the huge
store filled with rolled-up rugs.

In
short order, however, Buck’s interior elastic snapped, and the hero came apart
into many pieces. The very first night I had him! Buck’s “accident” left me only with Twiki…which
was a big disappointment.

The astronaut
had survived five hundred years as a popsicle only to spontaneously combust in
a carpet store.

When
we arrived home, my Dad glued Buck Rogers back together, but the poor guy was never
quite the same, being now unable to move his hips.

2 comments:

John I loved the Mego Buck Rogers In The 25th Century toys too as a boy in 1979. However, like you the inferior design of the “action” figures were disappointing. John, your parents treated you to an awesome day seeing the film plus buying Buck and Twiki at Toys R Us. However, you made the boyhood error of taking Buck & Twiki to an extremely hostile environment of the carpet store planet. I had similar problems with these action figures by visiting the dangerous world of the backyard lawn planet. I remember a friend’s father saying Kenner would have made these to last as he performed reconstructive glue “surgery” on several of them.I think that the pilot “Awakening” which was first a 1979 feature film release was the high point of the entire series before they changed things for the series. The Buck Rogers In The 25th Century (1979) film established that there was only one Inner City/New Chicago on a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland Earth and Colonel Wilma Deering was top officer in charge of Earth’s defense. The film established that Earth’s defense included a planetary Defense Shield[forcefield] that encompasses the entire globe that not even a Draconian Star Fortress could penetrate. Unfortunately, these were all changed in the series including the ruling computer council that only Dr. Theopolis was kept for season 1 and by season 2 Wilma was reduced to just another crew member on the Searcher. I consider both the Buck Rogers In The 25th Century (1979) film and the Flash Gordon(1980) film the best live-action adaptations of these characters. The Filmation Flash Gordon(1979-1981) animated series and late aired (1982) animated pilot film are the best animated adaptation of this character, plus the 1979 animated series action-figures were extremely fun to play with too.

We share a love for those toys, as badly disappointing as they were in terms of construction and durability. I always really loved Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and wanted more accurate toys. I would have loved a Hawk figure, and a Searcher model, among other items. :)

I agree with you that a great deal changed from the pilot to the series. I had really hoped to see Buck trying to rediscover some of his past by exploring Anarachia, the land outside New Chicago. I think they made a big mistake ignoring that aspect of the character. That said, I understand why the decision was made to take the adventure to outer space. It was two years after Star Wars, and certainly, it seemed like a safe move.

Like you, I was deeply disappointed with the diminishing of the Wilma Deering character. She started out as a superior officer and a very strong person. And by the end of it, she was just Lt. Uhura or Mr. Sulu, on the bridge of the Searcher.

Great comment.

And I also love the Flash Gordon animated series from the same era (and those toys...).

About John

award-winning author of 27 books including Horror Films FAQ (2013), Horror Films of the 1990s (2011), Horror Films of the 1980s (2007), TV Year (2007), The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia (2007), Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair (2006),, Best in Show: The Films of Christopher Guest and Company (2004), The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi (2004), An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith (2002), The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film & Television (2004), Exploring Space:1999 (1997), An Analytical Guide to TV's Battlestar Galactica (1998), Terror Television (2001), Space:1999 - The Forsaken (2003) and Horror Films of the 1970s (2002).

What the Critics Say...

"...some of the best writing about the genre has been done by John Kenneth Muir. I am particularly grateful to him for the time and attention he's paid to things others have overlooked, under-appreciated and often written off. His is a fan's perspective first, but with a critic's eye to theme and underscore, to influence and pastiche..." - Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files, in the foreword to Horror Films FAQ (October 2013).

"Hands down, John Kenneth Muir is one of the finest critics and writers working today. His deep analysis of contemporary American culture is always illuminating and insightful. John's film writing and criticism is outstanding and a great place to start for any budding writer, but one should also examine his work on comic books, TV, and music. His weighty catalog of books and essays combined with his significant blog production places him at the top of pop culture writers. Johns work is essential in understanding the centrality of culture in modern society." - Professor Bob Batchelor, cultural historian and Executive Director of the James Pedas Communication Center at Thiel College (2014).

"...an independent film scholar, [Muir] explains film studies concepts in a language that is reader-friendly and engaging..." (The Hindu, 2007)"...Muir's genius lies in his giving context to the films..." (Choice, 2007)